Imran Khan Gives Me Heartburn.

I can no longer deny that Imran Khan seems to be growing more and more popular by the day. People, who in the past would have laughed at his irrelevance, do not any longer. Some go as far as to even support him now.

I must say that I am quite surprised by this phenomenon. There has been no sudden change in tack by Imran Khan to cause this surge in support that we’re apparently seeing. His argument has, by and large, remained the same: 1) get rid of the corrupt politicians already in power, 2) cease all Pakistani support to the West’s war in Afghanistan , and 3) cease military activity against the various Jihadi outfits operating in FATA.

I can certainly rationalize why Imran Khan has grown more popular recently without changing his argument. The general populace is terribly war weary, and the economy has been in a slump that we seem unable to shake off. In all honesty, no war and a booming economy is an option anyone in their right mind would take.

Keeping the upsurge in popularity in mind, my thoughts on Imran Khan have changed from the dismissive, “He’ll never get it” to ”Alright, Imran Khan is Prime Minister. What’s the worst that could possibly happen?”

And it’s when I ask myself this question that I truly begin to get troubled. Remember how Rumsfeld once infamously said something about “known unknowns and unknown unknowns”? That’s about the same amount of confusion I get from Imran Khan.

Let’s start with Imran Khan’s associates over his political career. General Hamid Gul was an early adopter of Imran Khan. The man incidentally still quite proudly speaks of cobbling together the IJI; so that’s great company for a politician to be in. Another of Imran Khan’s close associates has been Shireen Mazari. In case you weren’t aware, Ms. Mazari had an altercation with an American gentleman in a restaurant and yelled, “Yankee, go home!” at him. This was because he had the temerity of brushing his chair against hers. Perfectly mentally stable character, that one.

While speaking of Imran Khan’s associates one must never forget the Jamaat-e-Islami. The Jamaat has stood by Imran through thick and thin. Except for that time when they had all that “Imran Khan is bringing the Jewish Lobby to Pakistan” business in 1996, and then when the Jamaat’s student wing had Imran Khan arrested for protesting against Musharraf. Friends like these.

I don’t know if any of these people are going to be in an Imran Khan government should that happen. However, I’d rather not take my chances with Foreign Minister Mazari. Thank you very much.

Another argument, which is tossed around often, is that Imran Khan has never been tried and therefore should be given a shot. Conceded. We haven’t. We also haven’t tried The Mazdoor Kissan Party, or the Jiye Sindh Qaumi Mahaaz, or the SSP really. Apparently, electoral politics is now a single-turn carousel that everyone gets to get on. [Save the military. Naturally, they run the carousel.]

What irks me most about Imran Khan is that I have no idea how he’s going to do anything that he has said that he’s going to do. His slogan for this campaign has been, “Tabdeeli Ka Nishaan, Imran Khan” (Imran Khan: The symbol of change). Yet, his politics or the ways that he has presented his politics are no different from that of the two major parties in Pakistan (the PPP and the PMLN). There is no clarity as to how anything will be achieved. If Imran Khan is going to run on a “Change” platform, thereby placing himself on a pedestal, I as a voter demand for him to display behavior that is uncommon among Pakistani politicians.

This entry is by no means meant as a defence of the sitting governments in Islamabad or Lahore. The fact that Imran Khan has managed to acquire the level of popularity that he has is a scathing indictment of their governance failures. However, I have a fairly clear idea of what I expect from them. I have a good idea that the PMLN will push forward with an aggressive trade agenda with India and will push back against the military (mainly due to Nawaz Sharif’s personal vendetta against the institution). With the PPP, I know that they’ll continue to pay lip service to nominally liberal clauses, will continue their alliance building / breaking politics, and will probably oversee greater devolution to the provinces.

Truly think about it for a minute. Do you have any idea what Imran Khan’s economic policies are? Or how he’ll work with India? What’s his relationship with the military going to be like? How would he manage a severance of ties with the United States or at the very least with the war? On what terms will he make peace with the Taliban?

Yes, he’s opened a hospital and a university and he’s perceived as being incredibly clean. But do you really know what he’s going to do with the country?

My true fear is that Imran Khan is the “pait mein daarhi” that some have been waiting for, for so long. And that’s not a great feeling to have when you’ve moved your question from “Oh he’s irrelevant let me laugh at his idiocy!” to “What if he does?”

Like this:

Related

But then again, considering ‘the other options’, no person in his right mind would vote for PPP. these 5 years have been enough. Same goes for PML-N, if not that corrupt, still… they are no better. MQM is off the list. And so is JI. PML-Q is a big laugh.
what are we left with, then?

Dislike by association is not a good argument. While I completely agree his politics are not different to other parties and have long been saying that he has a case of “pait mein daarhi”. Though he does take a hard stance against external interference in Pakistan and our Governments inability to say no and also talks about the injustices taking place against minorities. But where he looses out in my eyes is his own inability to call out the military nexus. Also PTI is more of a personality cult rather than a party. If you preach democracy them at least start with your own house.

Till we change our systems no party can come in and improve things. And the only way to change our systems is doing it bottom up and not waiting for some leader to come fix things.

PTI is young and still not where it wants to be .. given its popularity i would think they are going to give some tough time to PML-N and ANP. Which will make it a player in the coalition setup. So i dont think you need to worry about FM mazari.

ost of Imran’s family is military.with lots of generals there, so he is just another face of the Army……….I still have to hear him make one statement on how he is going to ‘DO’ what he says he will do. As for S.Mazari, the less said the better……….

While I can concede that the associates that I’ve identified are “preliminary”, I don’t see how I’m being “presumptuous” at all since these people have very openly been Imran Khan’s advisers in the past.

Oh I meant presumptuous that they will be in influential posts under his leadership, or that his direction won’t override his ministers personal ambitions, or that any of this is at all predictable.

This isn’t a statement of support for Imran Khan. I’m just saying forecasting the outcome of him winning popular support is a shot in the dark. One simply cannot foresee how mass political change unfold.

here are some things that one can expect:
1) his appointments wont be his brothers, sons, cousins nephews or the likes. but rather there is more likelihood of meritocracy and the poorly performing will be replaced. In my opinion that’s half the battle against corruption
2) he has said he will turn governor houses, chief minister houses pm house and president house into universities and cut back a great deal on cabinets expenditures. i think he is in all likelihood going to go for it. Plus he would want an education emergency, wants one system of education instead of the three we have(english, urdu, madrassa)
3) He says hes hes going to build an infrastructure fund, from ex pats investment. Seems again doable.
4) tax the rich: If he will be starting with himself (which he already is and seems capable to do so in the future too) and the parliament, hes more likely to squeeze money out of the rich in the country.
5) independent judiciary, nab and election commission: because he doesnt seem to have much to hide.
6) india: he has categorically spoken against the militant strategy that has been used for kashmir. also categorically spoken against presence of any militant organization in the country.

am surprised to know IK is populary??/ according to which yardstick…that of the urban babus or maims? or is he popular with the rural poor. IK has a long way to go, he hasn’t even touched on issues like insurgency in Balochistan, or the sectarian killing, People in rural Sindh and Balochistan or for that matter Punjab and KP don’t even know he is a politician of choice…contesting this the rest of the argument itself becomes irrelevant.

While Nawaz Sharif has been making all the right noises lately, the fact that his party has unsavory characters like Rana Sanaullah makes you think twice about voting for PML-N. PPP’s 5 years have been more than enough, and as a neutral Karachiite I can’t imagine voting for either PPP, MQM or ANP after what we have blood bath we have witnessed recently.

That does not leave us with any choice, except for maybe Tareen’s “clean party” which is still in the works. And if PTI is really being backed by the establishment then in all probability the “clean party” will merge with PTI.

so PLMN has Rana Sanaullah but what about PTI?
isn’t PTI also welcoming the same people who are/were part and parcel of the same corrupt system? Mian Azhar , Marvi Memon
and guys who contested in by election for PIT Khokar in PP-160 and Jazi in NA-55 the same old people and rejects from other political parties who could not manage to get a ticket were awarded by PTI
this is not the way you bring ‘change’. may be if PTI has given ticket to a retied school teacher than I might have thought otherwise

I don’t necessarily agree with your arguments against Imran here. ( Agree about Shireen Mazari though, although I remember a time when she was pretty normal when she used to come on PTV, now she’s gone bonkers).

About the JI, after what they did to him in Punjab University I don’t think you’ll see an alliance with them soon. Imran has said in an interview recently that he retains a friendship with Qazi Hussein Ahmed because he feels that he’s sincere and honest and that all the religious parties are religious by name and that they use religion fr politics which is the worst form of hypocrisy.

Don’t know much about the Hamid Gul link, so can’t comment on that.

But I agree with javaria, you can poke as many holes as you want in Imran Khan but at the end of the day who else do you the people to vote for ? Who else is there who can give us an iota of hope ? Ok we don’t know what his policies and plans are when he comes into power, but we do know what the agendas of PPP,PML-N,PML-Q,JUI,MQM,ANP are and I’m not sure our country can withstand another term of their ‘policies’. Like it or not Imran Khan is our only hope.

Do you have anything new about him, everyone knows these things. he give you a heart burn and all others definitely gives you ass burn. Don’t waste your time writing this type of rubbish which people already know do something for the people around.

I’m sorry to say this, but the writer has failed to conceal his prejudice against Imran Khan and PTI in this article. He has desperately tried to give all the reasons why IK should not be voted for on the basis of presumptions.

Whether you agree with IK’s stance on the war on terror or not, the fact is that he is the only politician in Pakistan who has a clear and consistent policy on this burning issue. I don’t even know where PPP, PML (N) and MQM stand on this…

On what the writer expects from PPP and PML (N), I think he is being naive. The rate at which PPP implements its agenda we need at least 500 years. And what about all the downsides of the mainstream parties? Mega corruption scandals, encouraging armed militias in Karachi and gross incompetency are just some of the major vices associated with the old parties.

Finally, what makes PPP and PML (N) more democratic than PTI. The former was inherited by Mr. Zardari and the later even contains a ‘N’ for Nawaz Sharif in its very name.

Expecting a different result each time without changing your actions is simply madness…

I still haven’t heard of a single reason why you would have Imran over the Communist Mazdoor Kissan Party… (that is if we are supposing k yeh bachon waali game khel rahay hain jiss mei sab ki baari aani zaruri hai)…
The ideals that supposedly attract you towards Imran Khan : anti-capitalism, taxing the rich, removal of the class barrier, sovereginty, etc … are precisely the same things that various left-wing parties have been proposing for a fair few decades now.
and nobody suspects them of being Taliban sympathizers also…

So, is the only difference between the CMKP and PTI that one has a hawt and saksy leader and the other doesn’t? Cuz if you want we can make Ali Zafar the president…

The difference is that PTI has a leader who can inspire people and has a track record of leadership success and integrity. The Communist Party has never had any followers(surely with a large segment of the population being mazdoors or kissans they would have had some street/electoral power), any leader who has nationwide appeal . Infact the only time you hear about this party is when the tell you the voting symbols near the elections.

Perhaps I would like to see them in the parliament in a diminished capacity. See how they do when they actually some powers, perhaps less than 15 seats or something. Lets see how it goes. The only good thing is that PTI wouldn’t have a lot of support outside the urban areas, perhaps. So Hallelujah!

why are so cynical about IK. Yes, we don’t know if he can CHANGE pakistan, yes we dont know HOW he will achieve all that he claims to achieve and yes he may not have the best advisors, but shouldnt we be willing and optimistic about a man who has shown over the years that he is capable and willing to lead Pakistan? And shouldnt we be more trustworthy of a man who is honest and has an impeccable character. Why would you want to trust PML-N or PPP with your vote when they are corrupt, and have consistently failed us as a nation? Why shouldnt you vote for an individual who has the dignity and strength to stand up for his opinions, rather than taking the help of super powers or the army to get to power. Yes his agendas are not the most clear, yes his election winning strategy is far from clear but i believe that he might just be a better man to lead Pakistan than the present lot and he has shown that he actually cares for this country and its people. He might not change Pakistan completely, or root out the corruption that has seeped into our society but he might just be the one person who can set Pakistan back on the right track. Then its up to the rest of us to do what we can for our country. If you follow his opinions and his interviews with an open mind, you might just agree with him. 🙂

You need to do a bit of research on what PTI’s future policies will be. PTI released a 100-day plan sometime back (only the salient features), that will give an idea to you. Also, in one of the recent interviews, Imran Khan has explained PTI’s policies on various issues, which include things like devolution of power to the village level, depoliticized police with public safety commission, a strong, independent NAB with an independent secretariat, and most importantly, a law that bans all “Benami” transactions and to require politicians to declare all their assets. Other issues were also discussed. So the answer to the question you ask at the end, is a very humble “yes” from me. 🙂

Disappointingly desperate arguments, nothing better than a policy of spreading fear. Name one leader since Zulfikar Ali Bhutto who has ever had a credible manifesto to speak of never mind delivering it – the ignorant jeyalas are still waiting for their Roti Kapta & Makam – the present regime can’t event speak of a single Minister in the cabinet who is either qualified for the role or can truly say they have given it a good go despite the lack of resources.

You may have a heartburn, but the nation is going through a cardiac arrest, lying on a ventilator and the switch can be liked off any minute by the specialist baboo consultants. You really think the existing crop of looters know what is best for this country? (That’s a rhetorical question)

Saying PTI a JI like party means that either the writer has never gone through PTI constitution or menifesto or else he thinks JI as a party being center to left. PTI is the only party that has made Jinnah’s 11th August speech to const. assembly as a cornerstone for its evolution and hasn’t restricted minorities to minority wings only. PTI spokesperson on defence matters is Rtd Brid Samson Sharf and he is there for his competency and not his religion. Similarly PTI’s stance on Afghan war is opposite to that of JI.PTI stand on Hadood and Women protection laws is completely opposite to that of JI’s. Having said that JI has respect within PTI for they too have honest leadership, is a democratic party and consist of people from middle class. However ideology of both parties don’t resemble a bit. I hope next time writer can write after doing a bit of research on the topic.

I will try to focus on the socioeconomic policies of PTI
firstly we want to know what PTI stands for and how PTI policies will benefit our lives and our families. Most importantly they want to know about the economic policies …of PTI. and i think this is first question in the third paragraph….
Tax Reforms:
As mentioned earlier, Pakistan’s GDP to tax ratio is one of lowest in the world. Pakistan’s main problem is the low government revenues that exist because of tax evasion, loopholes and exemptions. Only 3 million out of 175 million citizens have a national tax number NTN and the actual number of people who pay any tax at all is even lower. As per utility companies, there are 2.75 million commercial connections and only 0.7 million businesses file taxes. Although agriculture contributes 22 percent of Pakistan’s GDP, but only it has only 1 percent role in tax revenue. According to the FBR chief, more than $800 billion is lost annually due to tax evasion. Around $600 billion is lost in direct taxation evasion, mostly in business income tax (WHD) and around $200 billion is lost due to evasion of sale tax, FED and import duties

I will try to focus on the socioeconomic policies of PTI
firstly we want to know what PTI stands for and how PTI policies will benefit our lives and our families. Most importantly they want to know about the economic policies …of PTI. and i think this is first question in the third paragraph….
Tax Reforms:
As mentioned earlier, Pakistan’s GDP to tax ratio is one of lowest in the world. Pakistan’s main problem is the low government revenues that exist because of tax evasion, loopholes and exemptions. Only 3 million out of 175 million citizens have a national tax number NTN and the actual number of people who pay any tax at all is even lower. As per utility companies, there are 2.75 million commercial connections and only 0.7 million businesses file taxes. Although agriculture contributes 22 percent of Pakistan’s GDP, but only it has only 1 percent role in tax revenue. According to the FBR chief, more than $800 billion is lost annually due to tax evasion. Around $600 billion is lost in direct taxation evasion, mostly in business income tax (WHD) and around $200 billion is lost due to evasion of sale tax, FED and import duties

Focus on taking advantage of Natural Resources:
Pakistan is very rich in natural resources and has immense reserves of minerals. Gypsum, limestone, iron ore, copper, rock salt, silver, gold, gems, marble, graphite, sulphur, and silica are o…nly a few of the minerals found in Pakistan. Huge reserves of untapped oil and gas reserves are also available in the country. PTI plans to utilize the nation’s natural resources to the greatest advantage for the country, in a way that will promote growth and alleviate poverty. At this moment in time, mineral exploration accounts to only 0.4% of the GDP and this easily holds the potential to increase to 4% of GDP through proper planning and focus.

To even form a coalition government one needs at least 250 seats in the NA. Imran neither has that many vote getting members in his party nor supporters….. Imran Khan is just a irritant floated by the establishment to keep the TV talk shows and mainstream politicians jumping and active 😛

Your view points are valid but at the same time, you shouldn’t forgo the fact that he hasn’t been given a chance to enact his words. I share the same reluctance in accepting the future he displays in his speeches, but whatever he says seems much better than the gloomy present we are enduring. His comments on ending the war and putting an end to our miseries might be far from the fact but at least he is giving a voice to everyone’s thoughts at the moment. In Pakistan, we are unable to select the best to lead us, instead, the only option we have is to select the bad from the worst. Imran Khan is new, he hasn’t been tried and tested, so we cannot comment as of yet. We have seen what the rest have done with this country so far. If the people of this country are wise enough, they will not re-test the ones that have been tested several times in the past and have failed miserably every time. The current state of this country isn’t just because of the ruling party alone, all others are equally responsible. We need a new path now, it may or may not take us to better heights but for the time being, we are heading down aggressively for sure.

Lol how much did Zardari’s henchmen pay you for this you piece of shit? If Imran Khan gives you ‘heartburn’, what does Zardari, or for that matter even the Sharif brothers give you? Butterflies in your stomache? A heartwarming feeling of safety? Cold hard cash obviously. Our country is going to the dogs because of pretentious idiots like you….and since you brought up gastronomical discomfort, what with saying Imran Khan gives you ‘heartburn’, you and others like yourself make me sick to my stomach.

dear ayesha, you comment is forcing me to reply because it is making me ‘sick to my stomach’! I am sorry but you have no right to judge anyone’s opinions and the kind of language that you have used is beyond derogatory…it’s just proving your own inability to argue rationally.These kind of forums and blogs are built for debate and discussion, and I believe this is how societies progress. And why does everything need to be reduced to money and zardari in our country??

Dear Faiza, everything gets reduced to Zardari and money in our country because Zardari is our PRESIDENT, and he’s eating up all our money. Okay? Sorry if you’re above voicing concern over our current leadership, but I for one think it’s about time there’s a drastic change. There is way too much of a divide between the rich and poor, and the rich are going to keep on getting richer under the current government, while the common man can’t even afford salan with his roti and has to make do with hot water and salt. I’m from Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, and I’m sick and tired of hearing about peoples poverty firsthand. My maid has 3 sons, and all of them have gone to Saudi Arabia to work as labourers, they cant afford to live here, she swears she never realized how lucky she was about 4 or 5 years ago, when the cost of living was about the quarter the price it is now. I obviously do all that i can to help her, and she’s still managing to do okay, but i can’t fix an entire country now can I? Things may be different wherever you live, so that’s why you aren’t affected or concerned about Zardari and money etc etc. I can go on and on, but i honestly don’t have the time, and nor do i want to make the effort. However, you’re quite right, the language i used was totally uncalled for, and i apologize for causing offense….just got reallyyy irritated by the author’s views and couldn’t help but lash out! Now that I’m rereading my comment, it was a bit extreme 🙂
Still, i stand by my sentiment, and think this was a pathetic article. That’s a judgement I have every right to make 😛

I am Pakistani living abroad and may not be up to date with all the details of Imran’s record and his associations, but this whole article failed to make any good and logical arguments against him. I don’t think Pakistanis have any better options other than Imran Khan. He may be sympathetic to the religious crowd, but at least he is not a corrupt and incompetent politician who will stand by while the civilians in the biggest city are being slaughtered. The author shows concern over Imaran Khan’s associations, well that’s the same argument that people used to defame president Obama before the elections. Some even went as far as claiming that he is a closet Muslim (where Muslim = bad). I think if there is any hope for Pakistan, it in the presidency of Imran Khan. I personally think he acts sympathetic towards the uber- conservative crowd to gain their vote. Once he is the president he will act as a centrist with a liberal streak.

I am baffled by the author’s closing comments about opening a cancer hospital and a University not being important in one’s political career. These accomplishments show what Imran Khan is capable of as a leader and that he wants the betterment of Pakistan, socially and economically. He could have easily settled in any western country after his cricket career, and would have still had a celebrity’s lifestyle; instead he chose to stay in Pakistan and work on social issues. How many other politicians have done that? What else do you want from this man? Do you only criticize others’ work? Or is there something great that you have done for your country?

i used to think on the same lines as you have mentioned that how will he be able to cater with the needs and how will he manage economic agenda etc, but it helped me when i researched completely and talk to different people who have actually talked to him in person, one disadvantage Mr.Khan has as etribune, dawn and other news channel doesn’t cover his statements much as they should be especially about policy making, this man speak guts and indeed is the change, though how he manages complex internal politics of Pakistan will be the real challenge which might be his weak point since he is not shrewd as much as Zardari is.

If Imran Khan gives you heart burn, then Zardari & Sharif would possibly give you a fatal heart attack. I think for millions of Pakistanis, Mr Imran Khan gives them heart and realization that there are at least few decent and non-corrupt politicians alive in Pakistan.

We need to isolate our selves form USA.
There is no operational economy in Pakistan at this point so even if he succeeds in exploiting only 10 % of the cola and gas in the country we’ll at-least sleep properly.
The clean shaved Mushraf brought the militants into our cities from the mountains so lets see what a “pait mein daarhi” would do. If he diverts them to Kashmir that should help with water crisis.
Sustainable solution of Corruption is education but Paki land needs a clean up first.

AFTER READING THIS ARTICLE, i’m still in a state of mind in identifying? WHAT was the author’s ACTUAL reason to ostracize Imran khan from not having a specified Agenda

Standing up ON YOUR OWN FEET – BEGGARS! stop promoting US aid and Indian hatred in Pakistan, You were given a chance through your role model late salman taseer? Any change? whatsoever were you able to make? Punjab’s still the same under your late governance as well

SLEEP EVERY NIGHT REMINISCING ONE WORD, NO CORRUPTION and the IMRAN KHAN NAARA OF AMAN,ROTI,TALEEM and you’ll realize of what pseudo intellect you’re a manifestation of kalakawa!